The word is spreading. Sign language is a
great
way to communicate with pre-verbal babies and toddler. New moms
everywhere are grabbing American Sign Language books and absorbing them
feverishly. Pregnancy classes are full of moms teaching each other
basic sign language and day care centers across the country are
training their teachers in sign language.
Why would you do such a thing?
Some of the benefits of signing are:
Less frustration for baby - Imagine how it feels
to grunt and point and not be able to ask for what you want. Put
yourself in your baby's shoes. You're a baby. You've been playing and
squealing and laughing and now your mouth is dry and you're really
thirsty for milk. You grunt and point and whine for milk -- and your
mother misunderstands and gives you a dry cracker instead, thinking
you're hungry for a snack. You feel very frustrated and possibly angry.
You might even throw the cracker back at your mother or hit her out of
frustration. What if, instead, you could simply sign milk and get milk?
Pure bliss!
Bonding with Parents - Babies who sign are able to
interact and be acknowledged at a younger age. Picture you and
your baby looking at a book about elephants. She can show you that she
understands the story by signing "elephant" to you well before she
could say the three syllable word "elephant". You know that your baby
understands and is benefiting from the story and you can respond "yes,
it is a big elephant", thereby rewarding her for her efforts.
Sibling bonding - Older siblings are given the
tools to bond with their new brother or sister sooner, because the baby
can sign, well before speech is possible. Not only is there a bond, but
I've witnessed a sense of camaraderie because the older sibling can act
as an interpreter for the baby in situations with non-signing adults.
How to start
You may, at this point, feel overwhelmed. After all, you are learning a
second language -- with no one to teach you. Please don't worry. First
of all, you only need to learn a few words to being signing with your
baby.
Begin with 4-6 words -- choose a few words that
are of importance to you (words that will make your life easier, like
eat, milk, more, etc.) and also choose some that are of interest to
your baby (for instance, airplane, ball, book, dog, cat, baby, etc.).
This ensures that both of you are rewarded for your efforts.
Once you choose a few words, you can begin signing
whenever you say those words. When your baby cries, you say "Do you
want milk?" Then, sign milk at the baby's eye level so she will begin
to associate the cause and effect and realize hands MEAN something!
At what age should you start? You can start from
birth on. The earlier you start, the more time you, as the parent, will
have to get comfortable signing. Babies 6 months and older will begin
to watch your hand movements. Babies 8 months old may begin to make
very rudimentary attempts to sign back to you. By one year, your baby
will likely be signing regularly.
If you have an older baby or toddler who is having
frustration issues or is a late talker, begin signing. Start today.
Toddlers pick up signing very quickly.
Don't think you have to learn an entire language
for this to work. Just learn one sign today and get started. Enjoy the
gift of communicating with your baby!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole Dean is the owner of
www.showkidsthefun.com/baby.html , a fun resource for parents to spend
time with their children.
For more help getting started signing, check out SIGN with your BABY
Complete Learning Kit (link to http://www.showkidsthefun.com/signkit.html
)
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